Sun-N-Fun 2006
This year Theresa and I decided to head down for a week away just
the two of us. To top it off, even our usual SnF companion, Marilyn,
wasn't going to make it this year.
We decided that the way to go was to rent a vehicle for the drive. About
the time the sun started to come up on Sunday ... we started to realize
that the A/C in the car was weak. Once the sun was up good and strong,
we realized it was actually *shot*. Along about Brunswick, GA we called
the Alamo folks and after a bit of pondering the best logistics, decided
to pick up a replacment in Jacksonville.
The switch could not have been easier, and the vehicle we got was actually
quite a bit nicer than the original. Fortunatly with just the two of us
the packing wasn't a big deal ... so we swapped stuff out of one vehicle
to the other, and the whole exercise probably only cost us about 30 minutes
of travel time.
We got down to Lakeland in plenty of time, and eventually selected a new
camp site (which we dubbed "Shady Rest"). It was at the back of Section 18
... and, yes, was another cow pasture. Our old location had been turned
into a 24-hour generator area, and we did NOT want to live with the hum
of generators running all night! As it turns out, the new location was
great. It was a slightly longer walk to the showers, but after about 5pm
our area was in the shade. Nice. Setup was faster than ever, and I
think we are about to get a routine. The tent was the same used last year
and it went up fast. Afterward we went for our traditional first-night
dinner at the Steak-And-Shake. :)
Since the show started on Tuesday, we had Monday to go do non-airplane
stuff. We headed to Tampa, found a great yarn/knitting store, then drove
over the bridge to St. Petersburg. We found a so-so yarn store there, then
headed to the waterfront area on the Tampa Bay side of the city. After
parking and having a nice lunch, we went wandering.
The city had hosted a road race the day before, so the roads were a bit
of a jumble as they were removing the race barriers. Even so we found our
way to a waterfront park, and then over around to "The Pier". After we
visited there, we drove over to the beaches beyond Clearwater and drove
down the island chain that fronts onto the Gulf of Mexico. Down at the
bottom of the island chain we found a really *nice* park that was cool
to visit. We then hit the road for the scenic route back to Lakeland.
Tuesday we hit the show, with a focus on looking at each and every EFIS
on the show grounds. I had been leaning in the direction of a Dynon setup,
but am now rethinking and am considering one of the new Advanced units. I
really like the functionality and thinking behind the Advanced EFIS, and
Rob Hickman has been in the experimental electronics business for years
now and has a great reputation. I still have time to decide, though, so
will keep my options open.
Wednesday was a general "looking at airplanes" day. We hit vintage and
warbirds, with Theresa taking a shine to a Swift that was being raffled
off (and with the money going to a good cause). We spent the week talking
about "her Swift". :) We walked through more vendors, hit the parts mart,
and generally walked ourselves to death. The afternoon saw us taking a
break back at "Shady Rest" ... and man was that a plesant way to catch
our breath. Wednesday was clearly the day with the nicest weather and we
enjoyed it tremendously.
Thursday had us looking first at all the RVs on the flight line. We had
an eye toward panels and paint jobs. I have to say we came away with a
few ideas, too. :) A forum on Panels and Cockpit Design didn't hurt in
the idea department either! After that we caught some lunch off-field, and went
over to Lake Parker to watch some seaplanes. Coming back to the field we
tried to hit the vendor areas that we had not hit earlier ... and then
with feet hurting, called it a day.
Friday we focussed on hitting a few specific vendors that we wanted to
revisit, picking up some more tools from Avery, and hitting the parts mart
one last time to pick up something there that I had talked myself into
buying. I also had some folks I needed to meet for some activities I
have planned ... which I'll talk about later if they work out. Since
they are still in the works, I don't want to say anything prematurely. (And,
no, it isn't a big deal .. just not ready to be discussed yet.)
Since we had done just about everything we wanted, we decided to tear down
the camp and bug out ... thus avoiding packing in the morning when everything
would be -wet- with dew. Packing was also the fastest ever, and we were
done in short order. We then hit the showers on the way out, and were on
our way.
The trip was interesting. We got rolling late grabbing a bite of dinner
in Lakeland. We headed out via a new route, and it was a good choice (and
avoided I-75 completely!). We made it to I-10 by 11:00pm, and were in
the Brunswick area by 12:30. Like we have done for the previous 4 years
we did NOT make reservations ... figuring we would just stop when we got
ready and get a room. Sadly, that was NOT a good plan this year.
To make a LOOONG story shorter, there was no room to be had in Brunswick.
In fact, we didn't find a room until 4:00am in Florence, SC! Suffice it to
say ... we were exhausted at that point. It did make for a very short
drive home the next day, but with only 5 hours sleep we were groggy.
Theresa and I had a -great- trip this year. I learned a lot and came away
with many new thoughts about how I want to proceed. Now .. I just need to
finish this airframe SOON! Time to get it done. :)